Automobile-boat.



E. HENSLEY.

AUTOMOBILE BOAT.

APPLIOATION FILED NOV. 25, 1913.

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B. HENSLEY.

AUTOMOBILE BOAT.

APPLICATION FILED NOV. 25, 1913.

Patented June 16; 1914.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

ELI HENSLEY, F SAND SPRINGS, OKLAHOMA.

AUTOMOBILE-BOAT.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented June 16, 1914.

Application filed November 25, 1918. Serial No. 802,876.

To all whomz'i magiconcern Be it known that I, Em Hnnsnnr, a citizen of the United States, residing at Sand Springs, in'tlig county ofTulsa and State of Oklahoma, have invented certain new and useful Impnohzements' in Automobile-Boats,

of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to power boats and theprimary object is to provide a boatof very light'draft that wil operate satisfactorily on streams where the water is shallow, or where sand bars and the lilre are apt to he'encountered. To this end the invention contemplates the ds bottomed bodyorhull aving at each end rovision of a flat thereof a profigller wheel of specialdesign, such wheels ing capable of travel over landas well as water. -Rudders are pro- I vided atbothends of the boat and are arran ed to be swung simultaneously inopfposlte directions so asto enable short turns tobemade.

In order that the invention may be readily' understood, reference is had to the-ac- 'companying drawings, forming a. part of this specific-.tion, and in which,

'- portion of the body or hull and, Fig. 6 is- Figure 1 is .a side elevation of the con r' plete boat; Fig. 2 is a vertical longitudinal section substantially on the line 22 of Fig. 3; Fig. 3 is a plan view of the boat shown in F g. 1; Fig. 4 is a cross-section on the line 44 of Fig. 3; Fig. 5 is a horizontal fragmentary section through the central a perspective view of one of the specially constructed propeller wheels.

Referring to the drawings in detail, the

7 frame of my improved boat is formed of two side, members 1 and 2, preferably in the form of angle bars. The extreme ends 1 and 2? and 1 and 2" of these side mem-.

., bers are brought together to form a wedged configuration at both the stern and bow.

The hull or body designated at 3 is located of one will suflice for both. Referring to Fig. 6, it will be seen that the wheel 12 comprises a central cylindrical drum 12, from which project a plurality of radially extending blades '12. These blades may conveniently be held by means of spiders 12 having grooved arms into which the ends of the blades fit. At the center of the wheel the spaces between the blades are filled in with a solid rimf12", over which a suitable band or tire 12 may be placed. ItWill be apparent that this central rim and tire form a smooth tread adapted to roll upon the ggound and thus support and propel the dy, ;when a sand bank or-the like is encountered.

Mounted upon each end of the shaft 13 is a sprocket wheel 15, and mounted upon each en of the shaft 14 is .a sprocket wheel 16.

Sprocket chains 17 a1 Id 18, respectively, e'xtend on each side of the body from the cured to the projecting ends. of a power shaft 21 which extends transversely of the body at about the center thereof. Guards 22, preferably formed of sheet metal, may be arranged over these chains and wheels if desired. V i

. Located in the engine'box 6 is an engine 23,,which may be. of any suitable type, but which is shown as a two-cylinder gasolene motor. mounted on the engine shaft extends a drive chain 25 to a sprocket whcel 26 secured to one member 27 ,of a clutch loosely mounted upon the shaft 21, the other member 28 of which is keyed to said shaft but capable of sliding thereon. The clutch may be controlled by any suitable lever', such as S9.

" Other transmission mechanism between the engine and power shaft 21 may, of course, be employed withoutdeparting from the invention.

Mounted at the wedge-shaped front end of the frame is a rudder 30, and mounted at therear end of the frame is a similar From, a sprocket wheel 24- rudder 31. To the post of rudder 30 is secured a pulley 32, and to the post of rudder 31 is secured a pulley 33, and around these pulleys pass cables 34 and 35, respectively. The ends of these cables are carried into the chamber 8, where theyare wound around suitable drums 36 and 37 geared in any desired manner to the steering post 5. The arrangement of these cables and drums is such that when the steering wheel 5 isturned, the rudders 30 and 31 are swung in opposite directions so as to exert a very effective turning -moment upon the boat.

It will be particularly'observed that the lower edges of the drums 11 and 12* are substantially in the same horizontal plane as the bottom of the body 3, and as these drums are air tight and buoyant, it will be apparent that they assist in supporting the weight of the boat. In other words, the load is carried by three separate buoyant compartments, consisting of the body and the two cylindrical drums, and owing to their location in the same horizontal plane, each exerts a lifting action proportional to its displacement.

It will thus be seen that I have provided a convenient and simple motor boat which is capable of traveling at considerable speed over shallow water and marshes impassable to a boat of ordinary construction, and it is thought that the many advantages of the invention will be readily appreciated without further discussion.

What I claim is:

1. In a device of the class described, a body or hull, a transversely disposed propeller drum mounted at each end of said body, a pair of side members extending beyond the body and drums, and having their ends brought together to form a wedgeshaped frame both in front and behind said body, a rudder mounted at the point of each such frame in front of one drum, and behind the other, and means for simultaneously swinging said rudders in opposite directions. I 2. In a device of the class described, a pair of side members forming an elongated frame, wedge-shaped at each end, a body carried b said frame centrally thereof, propeller wheels journaled in said frame one in front and one behind said bod each of such wheels comprising a drum an a plurality of blades radiating therefrom, a hood extending over each wheel, and a rudder mounted at each wedge-shaped end of said frame beyond the propeller wheels.

In testimony whereof I have affixed my signature in presence of two witnesses.

ELI HENSLEY.

Witnesses:

Ross H. RAYBURN, B. F. BREEDING. 

